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Canon has announced the EOS 80D, an update to the popular EOS 70D. The resolution has been bumped up to 24.2MP, still on a APS-C sensor. The AF module 45 cross-type AF points and an updated Dual Pixel AF for Live View still and video recording. Canon claims that the new AF module is capable of focussing down to -3EV at the centre point. Video recording capabilities have also been updated to allow for up to 1080/60p recording.

The EOS 80D has a native ISO range of 100-16,000, expandable to 25,600. The viewfinder offers approximately 100% coverage while the 3″ fully-articulated rear LCD has a resolution of 1.04M dots. Built-in Wi-Fi with NFC as well as GPS are also available on the EOS 80D.

The Canon EOS 80D will be available in March for $1,199 for the body alone, or $1,799 when bundled with an updated EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM kit lens.

Canon has announced the answer to Nikon’s recently released flagship, the Nikon D5, with their own flagship, the EOS 1DX Mark II. This is a 20.2MP DSLR with an ISO range of 100 to 51,200, expandable to 409,600. The new AF system consists of 61 AF points, 41 of which are cross-type sensors, and has an overall 24% larger frame coverage than the previous model. The centre AF point is sensitive to -3EV and is compatible with lenses with a maximum aperture of up to f/8, ideal for users of teleconverters.

The EOS 1D X Mark II can shoot at 14fps with AF and up to 16fps with the the mirror locked up in conjunction with a locked focus and exposure. The buffer is good for a whopping 170 RAW images in a single burst, and an unlimited number of JPEG images if you are using a CFast card. There is also a slot for standard CompactFlash cards. PC connectivity is via the camera’s USB 3.0 or Ethernet ports, while WiFi requires the use of a US$600 WFT-E8 wireless file transmitter.

Being a professional camera body, the 1D X Mark II is built from magnesium alloy and fully weather-sealed. The shutter is rated at 400,000 cycles, which will last you 8 consecutive days of shooting continuously at 14fps. At the back of the body is a 3.2″ Clear View III LCD with 1.62M dots. It’s touch-enabled for AF point selection in Live View, There is also a built-in GPS which sits in a hump on the top of the viewfinder.

On the video side of things, the 1D X Mark II can shoot 4K video at 60fps, just like the Nikon D5. Canon says there are “virtually no restrictions” when it comes to video recording, and exFAT support allows videos larger than 4GB to be recorded without having to merge files.

The most interesting feature of the 1D X Mark II is the built-in image optimisation. The new Digital Lens Optimiser technology stores information about the optical flaws of lenses and then fixes them digitally without impacting the camera’s performance. This is probably similar to what some mirrorless cameras are doing to fix various lens aberrations in-camera.

The Canon EOS 1D X Mark II will be available in April for US$5,999 for the body alone, or US$6,299 when bundled with a 64GB CFast card and a card reader.

Canon today has announced three new cameras—The PowerShot G9 X, PowerShot G5 X and the EOS M10. The PowerShot G9 X and G5 X are high-end, enthusiast compacts which features 1″ CMOS sensors with a resolution of 20 megapixels. Both uses Canon’s DIGIC 6 image processors, and supports RAW shooting, 1080/60p video recording, pop-up flash, a ND filter and WiFi/NFC.

The G5 X has a 24-100mm equivalent lens with an aperture range of f/1.8-2.8—the same as the G7 X—but adds a 2.36M dot EVF. It also has a fully-articulated 3″ 1.04M touch-screen LCD.

Canon PowerShot G9 X

Confusingly, the G9 X isn’t higher end than the G5 X or G7 X, but instead sits below the G7 X in the G-series line-up. It features a slim body reminiscent of the PowerShot S series of compact cameras, and has a 24-84mm f/2.0-4.9 zoom lens. Like the S-series, the lens is encircled by a programmable control ring, and only has a fixed 3″ LCD.

Canon EOS M10

The EOS M10 is Canon’s forth attempt at the mirrorless segment, and it continues to disappoint. Again, as with some of Canon’s confusing product model numbers, the EOS M10 is not a replacement of the M3, but instead sits alongside it. Canon markets it to the social media generation, saying that it shoots ”sharp images that are sure to draw ‘Likes’.”

To go along with the camera, there’s a new, retractable EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM kit lens. Like the collapsible kit lenses from the likes of Panasonic, it’s able to shorten and lock into a compact form factor to improve portability.

In line with the social media angle, the camera’s LCD is able to tilt up 180º to face the front so that you can take that awesome selfie you’ve always wanted. The EOS M10 has a 18MP APS-C CMOS sensor with an iSO range of 100-12,800 (expandable to 25,600). Like the G9 X and G5 X, image processing duties are handled by the DIGIC 6.

Unlike the EOS M3, the M10 uses a lower-end Hybrid CMOS AF II rather than the latest AF III in the M3. From what I’ve read from early hands-on reviews, the AF is understandably not stellar.

Seriously, Canon. Stop thinking that making great mirrorless cameras will cannibalise your DSLR line-up. Make us a proper mirrorless camera that is awesome. The previous few EOS M’s have been pretty lacklustre.

All three cameras will be available from November. The PowerShot G5 X and G9 X will go for US$799 and US$529 respectively, while the EOS M10 will cost US$600 with the EF-M 15-45mm kit lens, which is also available for US$300 separately.

Canon has released the ME20F-SH multi-purpose camera capable of an ISO rating of over 4,000,000. That’s right, a freaking 4 million! In short, it can basically let you shoot in near total-darkness.

The 35mm full-frame sensor can shoot Full HD video with subjects illuminated with nothing more than 0.005lux of light at its maximum ISO setting. This is dimmer than what you’d get on a overcast, moonless night with airglow (0.002 lux). The secret to this night vision capability is the 2.26MP CMOS sensor’s huge 19μm pixels—5.5x larger than what’s found on a high-end DSLR.

The camera accepts EF and EF-S lenses with autofocus, and has a built-in IR block and ND filters, both of which can be disabled if required. Being a professional camera, it supports Canon Log and Wide DR modes for maximising the dynamic range of your footage.

All these does not come cheap of course. You can pick up this baby in December this year for a cool US$30,000.

Ok, so it is official now. You know what the camera is like, thanks to the development announcement. A few more tidbits: The camera will be weather-proofed, does 1080p video, and can do 6 FPS continuous shooting. Like the G7 X, no viewfinder of any kind will be present. The sensor is still the same 20 megapixel 1″ sensor, with the 24-600mm equivalent f/2.8-5.6 lens. Arrives in July for US$1,000.

Canon has announced an all new 50mm f/1.8 lens, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens. The previous generation, the 50mm f/1.8 II, was a favourite for many to get into as a cheap, large aperture lens. Its claim to fame was in its price, as it was usually anywhere from a quarter to a third cheaper than comparable Nikon or Minolta or Pentax. Not surprising, given its all-plastic construction, and a very very noisy internal focus motor.

The new lens is going to change all that: The STM version has the silent and swift stepper motor, which means it will be good for video use as well, in particular with the Dual Pixel AF cameras, and the lens mount is now metal. There aperture diaphragm now uses seven blades, so the old pentagram bokeh at moderately stopped down apertures should be gone too.

At US$130, it is a bit pricier than the last generation, but I think the improvements will be well worth it, if you ask me. I could never stand the high-pitched motor of the 50/1.8 II, and the amount of slop and play in the plastic construction didn’t help my perception of it.

Wow, it’s a Canon Friday! First up, Canon took the wraps off the EOS 5DS and 5DS R, and I am pretty sure everyone is going ga-ga at the megapixel count. That is seriously a lot of pixels. Though I might want to remind everyone that the extra linear size advantage over a 36 MP image is just 18%. Square-cube laws are such a downer.

Basically, the 5DS cameras are a 5DIII with a 50 megapixel sensor and a few tweaks here and there. The R version uses the D800E trick of cancelling the anti-alias filter. With the new sensor the continuous frame advance has dropped to 5 FPS, and there are now in-camera crop settings of 1.3x and 1.6x. Canon also reworked the mirror lockup feature a bit, but I always thought that the Canon way is always a little clunky, and I recommend using Live View anyway. This sets the camera to use an electronic first curtain shutter which results in even less vibration.

The exposure meter is now the 1500 pixel colour meter from the EOS 7DII. The autofocus system still remains the same as the 61 point system from 5D III however. Like all contemporary cameras, Wifi and NFC are now present. To make it work with the recently announced media station, the NFC tap location is at the bottom of the camera. Hopefully you will never need to engage NFC with your smart device while the camera is on a tripod!

On the video front, little has changed, with the same 1080p modes with ALL-I or IPB compression. In fact Canon for some reason decided to remove the headphone monitoring out. Maybe they expect 5DS buyers to not be interested in video.

I do wonder why Canon bothered with two versions. Given Nikon’s little experiment the 5DS R should have been the camera to be released. Moire is going to be even less of an issue with 50 megapixels, and the extra detail will be well worth it.

Both cameras will be available in June for US$3700 for the 5DS and US$3900 for the 5DS R. There certainly is a small premium for the 50 megapixels. June must seem pretty far to some of you now. Photos of the back and top plate after the break.

With an amazing amount of resolution available, a nice wide angle lens to go with it will be nice, right? Canon thought so, and so has announced the EF 11-24mm f/4L USM. I know some will say 11mm is “too wide”, but that’s what they said about 14mm too. Now, even though it is not always useful, I still try to use that angle of view with my Panasonic 7-14. Ultra-wides are so much fun, and I can see Canon users having plenty of fun with this. The lens will arrive later this month for US$3000.

This… this is a bit odd. Canon have announced the latest update to their most popular line of DSLRs, the triple digit EOS cameras, or the Rebels as they are known in North America, and they have done so with not one but two similar cameras, the EOS 750D/Rebel T6i and the EOS 760D/Rebel T6s. Both cameras have some nice upgrades, with an all-new 24 megapixel sensor (still Canon designed and made), the very capable 19 point AF system from the original 7D and 70D, a new 7560 pixel colour exposure meter, an improved contrast-detect autofocus system, and new wireless connectivity with Wifi and NFC. The cameras retain the 5 FPS continuous shooting mode, 1080p video at 30, 25 or 24 FPS, and the very nice 3″ articulating LCD. Oh wait, there’s also a new battery, the LP-E17.

What makes the two cameras different? The EOS 760D adds a top panel information LCD, like that on its bigger brothers, as well as a thin second command wheel around the directional pad, again similar to the one on its bigger brothers. There is an eye sensor on the optical viewfinder, and in video mode the EOS 760D can do continuous (servo) AF while recording. It makes me wonder why Canon bothered to release two cameras if the differences are not great; surely releasing one model would have sufficed? The EOS 760D is quite a bit more compelling, and the initial price difference does not seem much. I can hear the dealers moaning at having to keep different inventory already.

If the image sensor is a big upgrade over the 18 megapixel one, I can see Canon selling plenty of these. The 19 point AF system is capable, and having two command dials does remove some annoyances with using most entry level cameras.

This one is a bit of a surprise; after the EOS M2 mirrorless camera was only sold in Japan, Canon has decided to try again with the EOS M3 in Asia and Europe. Sorry people in the Americas. The camera sports the new 24 megapixel APS-C sensor, adds NFC on top of Wifi, and hopefully has better AF than the previous EOS Ms. I wonder why they did not at least try using Dual Pixel AF; that system would have made a big difference to the focusing speeds. Maybe the new contrast detect AF system is fast enough? Continue reading Canon Announces Europe and Asia-only EOS M3→